For the past few months, actor and activist, Jane Fonda, has organized Fire Drill Friday rallies each week in front of the White House in order to advocate for action against climate change, with the final one taking place earlier this month.

At their Jan. 3 meeting, team members of the Center for Coalfield Justice attended, representing Washington and Greene counties.

Sarah Martik, campaign manager at the CCJ, said they decided to attend in order to educate and advocate for people living in frontline communities where coal mining, fracking and petrochemical build-outs are prevalent and which could negatively affect them.

“The communities of Washington and Greene are who we are fighting for,” she said. “Whenever we get the opportunity to take the work that we do and shine a spotlight on our community so that people understand what is happening in Washington and Greene, we do that.”

Although CCJ members have attended events in Washington D.C. before, the Fire Drill Friday rally was the first event in which they visited the White House  this year and the first of its kind that the CCJ has participated in, Martik said. The high-profile nature of the event made it unique in comparison to other events.

“It was really cool to be there with a lot of other frontline organizations and a lot of other really powerful people, particularly powerful women, who are fighting for better, more sustainable communities,” she said.

Veronica Coptis, executive director of the CCJ, spoke during the event to bring more awareness to the community concerns.

Martik said no matter how unique the event is, the CCJ tries to keep a consistent presence by respecting their communities, ensuring they are advocating for the wishes of those communities and bringing awareness to the issues within them.

“It’s not just about the environment, and it’s not just about carbon in the atmosphere. It’s about people,” Martik said.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Martik said CCJ members are planning a Pittsburgh event. She said they want to ensure that those who are “feeling impacts of environmental degradation” are being centered in discussions about Earth Day.

Martik encourages people in the communities the CCJ are advocating for to attend events and engage in discussions about community concerns.

“We are always encouraging people to show up and make sure we are holding companies’ feet to the fire,” she said. “When they break the law, we hold them to the regulations we have and continue to push for regulations that keep people safe and protect the resources that we have in our region.”